User blog:Carol of the bells/Days of Ruin (Revised): Chapter 3 part 2
“It’s not safe here….” What is that voice? “Please…” It sounded familiar….comforting, yet sad. “Take your sister…..and….” It started to fade. Who is talking? He strained to look up, but his movements were sluggish, unreal. He saw someone kneeling before him. They were surrounded in blood, but he didn't know who’s it was. “Ko.” He froze. “Why?” What? What is it? “Why…did you kill me?” Ko’s eyes snap open and his chest heaves as he draws in a sharp breath. His first thought is what the hour is—but he already knows before he can finish asking himself. It’s 2 a.m. It’s always 2 a.m. when he wakes up, every night, from the same dream. No, the same nightmare. The bedsheet falls to the floor as he tosses it aside carelessly. The cold floor is sobering as he walks to the washroom. The moonlight leaking through the room illuminated the mirror, just enough for him to see his reflection. He dips his hands into a basin of water and splashes it on his face. He pulls his hands away and stares at his palms. They were trembling. Every night, it’s the same dream of the night his mother died. Every night, she comes alive to haunt him. He can almost smell the blood, like it’s still there, on his hands. “Why did you kill me?” “I didn’t,” He murmurs absently, refuting the phantom’s claims. “I loved you, my son.” “Lies.” “I’ll always be there, whenever you need—“ The voice was interrupted as Ko reared his fist back and shattered the mirror. The glass cracked easily under his fist. On instinct, he quickly recoiled as it cut his hand, drawing blood. His breathing was heavy, and his vision was blurry. He left the room, stumbling down the hall. He wasn’t even sure he was at the right door as he knocked harshly on its surface, once, twice, and a third time. He wasn’t being courteous; he was trying to wake up the inhabitant. After a moment, the door opened, and Riku peered out. It only took a second for his eyes to widen as he recognized an oddly distraught Ko outside of his door. “K-Ko? What’s…wrong?” His breathing was unsteady, but his stare was still firm. “…Fix my hand.” Riku looked at his hand and understood, stepping out of his room. “Let’s go to the infirmary, I need to remove the glass.” Ko followed behind as his breathing began to slow and the pain set in. Riku opened the infirmary door and lit some of the lights, though it was still quite dim. “I don’t want to wake up Kaine,” He explained. He motioned for Ko to sit down. “What happened?” He asked, reaching up and tying his brown hair back from his shoulders. He didn’t answer. Riku decided not to press the matter as he retrieved tweezers and stood by Ko’s side. “This will hurt.” He warned. “Hurry up.” The tweezers clamped around the largest shard and he pulled. Ko winced involuntarily, but did not protest. “You’re up pretty early,” Riku commented gingerly. “Was it…the same thing?” Ko said nothing, but his eyes softened slightly. This was not the first time Ko had hurt himself around two in the morning. Riku knew his brother was insomniac, and through careful conversation, he found out he was having recurring nightmares. Riku seemed to be the only one that was able to speak to Ko in such a casual manner. Or maybe he just never listened, he couldn’t tell. After the glass was removed, Riku’s hands were surrounded by a soft blue light as he began to heal the wounds. When he was finished, Ko pointed underneath his eyes at the dark rings that had formed there. “Get rid of this, too.” Riku sighed, but complied, placing his hands over his brother’s face and healing the bags that had begun to form. Ko didn’t want anyone to know he was trouble sleeping. Not because they would be concerned, but because they would ask questions, and he didn’t like that. “Done.” Riku removed his hands. Ko stood and immediately turned for the door. “Ko,” He added hurridly, “If you ever want to talk…it’s okay.” His stride was unbroken as he pushed through the door and walked out into the darkened hallway. He was stopped short by a voice as he moved towards his room. “A little restless, are we?” He turned and saw Hisagi, just as he was exiting his office. He smiling—he was always smiling. In way that made Ko shudder inside. Hisagi was always smiling knowingly, smugly. He didn’t like it, and he didn’t bother to answer the question. “You’re going to replace me one day as head of the Samui house, Ko,” He continued. “I would hate to learn that something is holding you back. There isn’t anything, is there?” His question of concern was off-put buy his wry tone. Ko finally turned without a word and retreated to his bedroom. *** A breathy chuckle escaped Hisagi as he sauntered over to the window at the end of the hall, looking out over the white expanse. He had waited patiently for ten years; he could wait a little longer for Ko to overcome his personal problems before he… Hisagi narrowed his eyes as something stood starkly contrasted against the snow. After a moment, he realized it was a person. It was so rare to see another living being on Mt. Egor, he had to stare long and hard before he realized it was indeed a person. Deciding to investigate, he descended the stairs and exited through the double doors, easily opening the gate and stepping onto the snowy wasteland. The stranger seemed to see him, as he picked up his pace slightly. The two men stopped twelve feet from each other. The man appeared to be around his age; he was tall with a strong jaw line, silver hair, and angry dark eyes. Hisagi finally gave a shrug in defeat. “Sorry, I don’t recognize you.” The man’s brow dipped in anger. “Don’t be coy, Hisagi, I have an issue to address with you.” Was he supposed to know this man? He had no recollection of him. “Oh? And what might that be? You’ll have to forgive me; I have a terrible memory. Tell me your name, maybe it will help.” “My name is Regaris,” He answered curtly, “from the branch family. You used my brother as a decoy five years ago, when there was an attempt on your life.” Recognition sparked in his eyes. “Ah, I remember now. Yes, unfortunately, someone did try to kill me. Except they killed him instead, then I killed them. Shame. It’s so hard to find people who look like me.” Regaris clenched his fist and spoke through gritted teeth, “You dare disrespect the dead like that?” He raised his brow, still unfazed. “It won’t matter much to him now, will it? Is that why you’re here? To avenge your brother’s death?” “No, I’m here to avenge a different matter. My son.” “That’s impossible, since I’ve never seen your son. I’m sure he’s a fine boy.” “Your daughter,” He hissed, “Cut off my son’s arm.” Surprise broke across Hisagi’s face. “Really? Odd, I didn’t think she had it in her. I have to say it’s nice to know she’s improving. At any rate, let’s keep our children’s business between them, shall we? If my daughter cut off your son’s arm, tell him to cut off her head.” Regaris’ eyes flashed with anger. “She’s your responsibility, so it’s your head I’ll be taking.” He shrugged carelessly. “Not really my responsibility anymore. I exiled her. The actions she commits are hers to deal with.” His expression darkened. “So don’t come here and threaten me.” “You’re sick in the head, Hisagi. A man like you shouldn't be allowed to raise anyone.” “To each his own. I’ll raise my children the way I see fit, and you raise yours the way you like; we’ll see who’s still alive in the end.” He turned back towards the mansion. “It’s been a nice chat, but I’d really like to return to bed now. I’m going to count to five. If you’re not gone by then, I’ll kill you. Ready? One…” Regaris’ fist began to radiate with fire energy as he prepared to attack. “That’s always been your weakness. You underestimate everyone. Now I’m going to take your life and—“ He never got to finish speaking as Hisagi’s shadow flickered and shot out, piercing him in multiple places. Regaris collapsed on the ground, choking on blood. “Oh, I counted a little too fast. Sorry.” Hisagi approached him and bent down in front of the dying man. “That has always been your weakness, cousin. You always expect people to abide by their word.” The man could not reply as he gasped for air. Hisagi offered an empty smile. “If it makes you feel better, Zen might just die someday. I tell you what—one father to another, I’ll make sure she dies before she kills your son.” Those were the last words Regaris heard as he breathed his last. Category:Blog posts